GARC enhances capacity of media practitioners and IOs on multi-media platforms reportage By: Bennie A. Recebido SORSOGON CITY, January 20, 2015 (PIA) – The Global Alliance on Rabies Control (GARC) is holding a mentorship program dubbed as Communicating Health Advocacy Mentorship Program (CHAMP) which serves as a follow through of the workshops previously conducted in the provinces of Sorsogon, Bohol, Ilocos Norte, Pampanga, and Cebu. CHAMP aims to mentor selected participants from the previous workshops to enhance their capacity in interpreting science-based information and reportage on public health risks such as in rabies. The CHAMP is a model being piloted by GARC with a potential of reaching various stakeholders. The mentorship program will be held in Tagaytay City and will run for two months starting January to March with no cost on the participant’s end. “Four from Sorsogon province, three from the tri-media and one government information officer, have qualified and will undergo the CHAMP offered by GARC which they opened to community media practitioners and government information officers specifically to former participants of the Media Advocacy Workshop held in Sorsogon province on July 2013, the first of a series of workshops conducted by GARC under its Media Advocacy Program,” said Ms. Danellie Joy O. Medina, GARC Communication Officer “GARC considers media practitioners and information officers to be essential partners in our rabies elimination program. Similarly, the role of media practitioners is deemed crucial particularly in processing technical information into mainstream knowledge presented in the media,” she further said. The mentorship program will comprise of lectures and practical exercises that will use both face-to-face and online discussions that would further enhance the capacity of community media practitioners on reportage specifically on popularizing scientific information and communicating health risks such as rabies through multi-media platforms (i.e print, radio, TV, and online platforms). Participants will be provided with a module/workbook, detailed program of each session and other related materials prior to the sessions. At the end of the mentorship program, participants are required to come up with multi-media outputs that will enhance knowledge and participation on rabies elimination in the communities. Face-to-face sessions are scheduled on January 22 to 24, February 5 to 7 and February 26 to 28 while on-line mentoring will be on January 26 to February 6, February 9 to 20 and March 2 to 13 with the following session topics - Introduction: Science Communication for the Public; Communicating science through print, online and audiovisual media; and Communicating science through social media. As a mentorship program, there are facilitators who will closely monitor the outputs of the participants with feedback exchanges through a combination of face-to-face and online sessions. Mentors are Asst. Prof. Winifredo Dagli of the Department of Science Communication and Asst. Prof. Jon Paul Maligalig of the Department of Educational Communication, both from the College of Development Communication, University of the Philippines Los Baños; and Ms. Ma. Aileen Alcos-Garcia, Senior Communication Specialist – International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The CHAMP’s Program Coordinator and GARC Communication and Education Consultant is Asst. Prof. Elaine D. Llarena of the Department of Development Broadcasting and Telecommunication-College of Development Communication, University of the Philippines Los Baños. Since 2012, GARC has been a partner of the provincial government of Sorsogon through the Provincial Veterinary Office in its campaign for a rabies-free province. It could also be noted that the province is also one of the recipients of the GARC Communities Against Rabies Exposure (CARE) Project along with other areas in the country and abroad. The CARE project is one of GARC’s key initiatives, which aims to engage government authorities, global scientific community, and most importantly, communities to expand novel integrated models to include multiple diseases and other public health concerns. (BARecebido, PIA-5/Sorsogon)
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 11:35:08 +0000
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